Music world, friends, fans pay tribute to Memphis legend Alex Chilton

Big Star concert at Texas fest to now be show in his honor

Memphis music legend Alex Chilton was scheduled to perform with Big Star on Saturday at Antone's in Austin, Texas.

A day after the death of Memphis music legend Alex Chilton, shock and sadness slowly gave way to fond remembrance by friends, fans and fellow musicians.

Over the course of a remarkably varied 40-plus-year career with the Box Tops, Big Star and as a solo artist, Chilton was a creative chameleon. A teen pop hitmaker, a reluctant cult hero, a champion of Southern roots music, a visionary producer, a punk-rock provocateur and a much underrated guitarist, Chilton had carved his place as one of the most singular figures — both as an artist and as a personality — that Memphis music has ever produced.

Chilton died in his longtime home of New Orleans on Wednesday. The 59-year-old experienced shortness of breath, chills and upper body sensations during the past week while mowing his lawn, according to his wife, Laura. On Wednesday, Chilton continued to be in poor health.

"He was stubborn. But I told him to call the ambulance and finally he did," she said. "I got there before the ambulance, and we didn't know when they were coming, so I took him to the hospital."

Chilton died at the emergency room of Tulane Medical Center. Autopsy results have not been completed, "but he had a family history of heart problems -- his brother and his dad died of heart attacks," said his widow.

She said there will be a private family funeral, as well as public memorials in New Orleans and in Memphis. Plans for all are still incomplete.

On Thursday, tributes to Chilton began pouring in from all corners of the music word. In Minneapolis, Paul Westerberg, singer-songwriter of The Replacements, who penned the 1987 pop anthem "Alex Chilton," praised his late friend's myriad gifts.

"In my opinion, Alex was the most talented triple-threat musician out of Memphis -- and that's saying a ton," said Westerberg. "His versatility at soulful singing, pop-rock songwriting, master of the folk idiom and his delving into the avant-garde, goes without equal.

"He was also a hell of a guitar player and a great guy."

The news of Chilton's death sent shockwaves through the annual South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas. The massive industry gathering kicked off Wednesday night just as word of his passing began to spread.

Chilton had been scheduled to perform with Big Star on Saturday night, part of a headlining set at Antone's nightclub, and the group was also set to be the subject of a historical panel earlier in the day.

After consulting with Chilton's wife and festival organizers, surviving Big Star members Jody Stephens, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow confirmed that the panel and performance would go on as scheduled, effectively serving as memorials for Chilton.

"It felt like we had to pay tribute in some form," said Auer. "In a strange way, it's amazing that it happened around something like South by Southwest. So many people there are hyper-aware of Chilton and understand what he means musically, so it seems like the perfect place to do something like this."

The Saturday night Big Star set is shaping up to be an all-star tribute. Though the lineup is still coming together, a variety of artists including X's John Doe, R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, indie-folk singer M. Ward, the dB's Chris Stamey, Green on Red veteran Chuck Prophet and Chilton's longtime New Orleans collaborators Doug Garrison and René Coman are among those expected to appear.

For Coman, the sheer breadth of Chilton's artistry and the scope of his career remain the true measure of the man. "Alex had such a long career, and all kinds of different stages to it." said Coman. "The people that stay in it for a really long time and still enjoy it, it seems like they wind up finding different things to keep them interested as the years go by.

"Alex, being the free spirit that he was, always followed his own muse."